We understand that over the past week there has been an onslaught of news related to Kobe Bryant. Whether there have been reports about reactions from his friends and former teammates, tributes and memorials in honor of those killed in the accident, or news about the fatal crash itself, Kobe-related information has taken the internet by storm as the world grieves the loss of a basketball icon, his daughter Gianna, and their seven friends.
On Friday (January 31), the Los Angeles Lakers returned to their home turf at the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and before tipping-off their game against the Portland Trail Blazers (which they lost 127-119), the home team paid their respects to Lakers legend. As that was happening, Kobe's wife Vanessa Bryant shared an image of the evening's purple and gold sunset along with purple and yellow heart emojis over on her Instagram Story.
She also uploaded a photo of the two courtside seats left unoccupied in tonight's game in honor of her late husband and daughter. "There is no #24 without #2," she wrote in the caption. "❤️#GirlDaddy #DaddysGirl #MyBabies ❤️❤️ #OurAngels #KobeandGigi." Kobe's sister, Sharia Washington, also broke her silence about the passing of her brother while sharing a photo of herself with Kobe and their sister, Shaya Tabb.
"On behalf of our family, we join Vanessa, Natalia, Bianka and Capri in grieving the loss of Kobe and Gianna in such a tragic accident," Sharia wrote on Instagram. "We are devastated by the loss of our brother, son, our niece and granddaughter, and our hearts go out to all the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday. Our lives are forever changed." Read through Sharia's full message, and check out the other posts from Vanessa, below.
